APRIL

I quickly close the book I’m reading and tuck it behind me when Chance walks in with the popcorn.

Scooting over to make room for him, I accept the bowl into my hands. The scent of buttery popcorn fills my nostrils and a smile stretches my lips.

“Are you sure you can eat this?” I ask Chance, digging in.

His eyes sparkle. “That depends. Are you going to leave any for me?”

I freeze, realizing that I am, indeed, hogging the popcorn.

“Sorry.” I shove the bowl into his lap. “I had a car come in today that just would not show me the same symptoms the client complained about. I drove it three miles out of town, waiting to hear the clunking noise and there was no…” I trail off when I see one corner of Chance’s gorgeous mouth pulling upward.

 “I’m rambling again, aren’t I?”

“Don’t apologize. I love hearing you talk about cars.”

“But you don’t understand half of what I’m saying,” I point out, picking more delicately at the popcorn now.

“You don’t understand hockey either, but you still listen when I talk.”

“Only to be polite.”

He scrubs his chin. “Are you saying I’m boring?”

“Boring isn’t the word I’d use.” I screech with laughter when Chance tickles my side. “Okay, okay! I surrender! You’re not boring when you talk about hockey.” 

Chance straightens. “It’s alright if I’m boring. But I want you to know that you’re not. You’re pretty when you talk about the things you love.”

I blush.

He grins harder. “I’ll never get used to how hard you blush, Tink.”

I scrub a hand over my cheek, feeling like an overheating radiator. “And I’ll never get used to that silver tongue of yours, Chance.”

“But you like my silver tongue, don’t you, April?” He arches a perfect, Prince Eric brow, his eyes glittering with wicked meaning.

I cough as my face burns even more. “L-let’s just watch the game.”

“The game?” This time, Chance raises both eyebrows. “Aren’t we watching that new action movie?”

“Nope.” I try to restrain my smile. “Look at what I borrowed from the library.” I pull out the ‘Hockey for Dummies’ guide, showing off the bookmark that I stuck in the back. “I’m almost done.”

“You’re reading about hockey instead of auto repair?” Chance looks utterly bewildered. “Why?”

“I should at least know the basics. Sometimes your fans approach me and want to have a conversation about your games, but I’m so clueless that I don’t know what to say to them. I can tell that it hurts their feelings and they think I’m brushing them off.”

“April,” Chance takes my hand in his, rubbing the calloused fingertips, “it’s not your responsibility to make my fans feel anything. You don’t have to be something you’re not or study something you don’t like.”

I shake my head. “But you like it. If it’s important to you, it’s important to me.”

His eyes soften and then his gaze drops to my lips.

 Tension splits the air and my skin buzzes, anticipating the sweep of his mouth across mine. However, before Chance can kiss me, my belly growls.

He chuckles and hands the popcorn bowl back to me. I take another fistful and munch. My stomach finally quiets.

I notice Chance is watching me and not the game.

“You should eat too.” I say, setting the popcorn in his lap.

“How about we swap?” Chance asks.

 “Swap… what exactly?”

There’s nothing here besides the popcorn. Chance’s training ran late and I only got here a few minutes before him. We’ve learned to prioritize each other, no matter how hectic our day gets. But sometimes, that means there’s no time to stop for takeout before our dates.

“You hold this,” Chance says, putting the popcorn in my lap. “And I’ll…” The next thing I know, Chance’s hand is curving around my back and shoulder. The other hand steadies under my knees.

I’m being hoisted and then deposited into his lap, plopping down where the popcorn bowl used to be.

“Chance—” I squeak.

“Sh.” His giant hand sinks into the bowl on my lap and swirls around the popcorn. “I’m watching the game.”

He turns the volume up.

The buzzer squawks loudly through the speakers. Men zip across the ice in a scramble for the puck. None of those guys look half as hot as Chance does in a hockey uniform, which is probably why I can’t pay attention to the game.

Chance’s soft breath hits the back of my neck as he leans into me.

My lips pull into my mouth in response.

Chance reaches around my side to get to the popcorn bowl and his arm brushes my clean over-alls. But I might as well be wearing a bikini for the way his fingers singe through the fabric.

I swallow hard.

Chance makes an impressed sound. “That was a close one. They almost boxed in Henderson.”

“Mm,” I mumble. I have no idea what he’s referring to.

Chance laughs and the vibration of his chest rumbles through my entire body.

There is a zero percent chance I can pay attention to the hockey players on the television screen. And a sub zero percent chance that I can swallow another kernel of popcorn. Not when I can feel the imprint of Chance’s hand on me every time he presses in to the bowl.

Heat settles low in my belly, building to an inferno that makes it impossible to breathe.

“I-I need water,” I whisper, starting to scramble off.

But Chance holds me fast.

“Your water’s here.” He reaches down and hands over my tumbler. His blue eyes are assessing me closely.

“Oh, right.” I glance away and take a swig, but I’m too eager to guzzle the water and end up choking.

“April, are you okay?” Chance springs to action. He pats my back and takes the tumbler from me, setting it back on the ground.

“I’m okay,” I say hoarsely.

Chance chuckles. “

“What’s so funny?” I accuse, glaring at him with equal measures of desire and annoyance.

“You are.” Chance settles his hand higher on my leg. “Do you like me that much, April?”

I blink rapidly. The teasing grin on Chance’s face tells me he fully expects me to deny his words.

But I don’t.

Instead, I lift my chin despite my raging blush and nod boldly. “I like you that much.”

His eyes widen a bit.

“Let’s put the popcorn all the way over here for now,” I say, setting the bowl aside where Chance can reach it easily. With a nervous laugh, I admit, “I can feel your hand on me when you reach into the bowl and it’s revving my engines a little too much.”

I’m blushing hard enough that my face is probably in the dictionary under the word ‘tomato’, but at least I was honest and transparent with him.

Clearing my throat and gathering as much of my dignity as I can, I stare at the television and try to make sense of the game.

But it suddenly clicks off.

“Hey, I was watching… that.” My words trail when I spin around and find Chance staring me down with his stormy blue eyes. His jaw line is already impressive, but he’s clenching his jaw so tightly that he looks like a beautiful sculpture.

“W-what?” I squeak.

Chance reaches out and cradles my face. His callouses are different from mine. They’re in the middle of his fingers, formed where he clutches his hockey stick. The rough texture of his hands only makes my heart pound more.

“April,” Chance rasps in a deep voice.

I blink.

“I’m going to kiss you now.”

“Y-you don’t have to announce it,” I say, tilting my head up in anticipation. I’ve never considered myself as needy, but I desperately need Chance to stop talking and hold me now.

His hard, searching expression remains steady and he doesn’t move. He adds in a grave voice, “I’m not going to stop at a kiss.”

My heart travels to my throat and throbs incessantly.

Chance doesn’t move a muscle, waiting.

Gathering my courage, I move in and kiss him first. My lips tremble and so do my fingers, but I steady myself against him, digging my fingers into his shirt.

His mouth melds to mine and he quickly takes over, wrapping his strong arms around me and kissing me fiercely. I cuddle close to his chest, feeling his heartbeat and marveling at the fact that it’s pounding as hard as mine.

“Oh, April,” he groans, breaking away from the kiss. “I love you so much.”

“I love you,” I whisper.

Chance looks at me as if those precious words mean everything to him. And then he surges forward. His mouth greedily sips from my lips while his hands unsnap my jumper.

I feel myself tipping back into the couch, but I don’t fight it. Instead, I throw myself headfirst into the moment and let gravity and love take over.

Thanks for reading!

Come back to Lucky Falls soon,

Lia